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Abstract

Inadequate disinfection of contaminated freshwater that is used to irrigate food crops that are eaten raw can result in foodborne illnesses. Therefore, in this study we assessed the efficacy of a low-cost, water treatment technology, zero-valent iron (ZVI), in reducing microbiological contamination of synthetic irrigation water. Specifically, we compared the capabilities of a ZVI-sand filter versus a sand filter in reducing levels of Salmonella Newport MDD314 and E. coli TVS 353 through filtration or residual disinfection. Our data showed that ZVI-sand filtration was more effective than sand filtration alone in reducing levels of both of these microorganisms. Our results also showed that, after filtration, there seemed to be no residual disinfection capabilities associated with either the ZVI-sand system or the sand system alone. Our findings suggest that ZVI-sand filtration can effectively reduce microbial contaminants in irrigation water; however, there seem to be no residual disinfection capabilities after filtration.